Study: Short refs have Napoleon complex, hand out more fouls

The NBA is dominated by large, freakish athletes. Men like Kevin Durant, at nearly seven feet tall, run and jump and dribble with a level of ease that few can even comprehend.

We can’t really understand this in the real world. I’m 6’5″ and I’m often the tallest person in whatever room I enter. In the NBA, I’m just barely big enough to play the smallest position on the floor.

And for every tall person out there, there’s a guy who hates that man for his height. He’s a man who hasn’t quite hit the six-foot mark. He’s a man who, despite neither person’s ability to control how tall he’s grown, seethes at the larger man’s genetics.

He has what we call the Napoleon complex. And according to a new study, that Napoleon complex exists in the NBA.

Given the vast number of observations in a transparent environment, the interaction between players and referees in the National Basketball Association (NBA) provides a real-world laboratory that allows for observation and testing of implicit height-based biases (the so-called “Napoleon Complex”). Controlling for a plethora of referee-specific characteristics and including 4,463 regular season games from 2008 to 2012, we find that (i) more personal fouls are called when a relatively shorter three-person officiating crew is working and (ii) no more or fewer fouls are called when games involve relatively taller players. Such biases are probably not large enough to impact game outcomes but could affect gambling markets. Our findings support the conclusion that relatively shorter NBA referees officiate basketball games differently than their taller peers. The analysis spotlights an oft-suggested but rarely studied bias in a workplace where employees are heavily scrutinized and monitored.

The study reveals that shorter NBA referees act as if they had Napoleon Complex. They give considerably more fouls than those who are taller. However, the researchers do not think that such cognitive bias has significant influence on the game results, as it has direct impact on the number of the free throws only. In addition, no specific bias towards higher players was observed. This means, that teams are treated in the same manner, irrespective of their average height.

So basically: A shorter ref will hand out more fouls to taller players. Not because he wants to influence the game, but because he’s a small person and screw those tall jagoffs.

Is this really surprising, though? I can only imagine that NBA officials got into the ref game because they loved basketball but weren’t good… or tall… enough to make it to the big time. I don’t think these are just rules-and-regulations wonks who just like officiating things. These are basketball wonks who found this alternate route to making the NBA.

I wonder if the NBA will respond to this. I also wonder if it will lead to any changes. Will the NBA have to mix up officiating crews based on height? Will Vegas odds shift based on the height of the crews?

I have a hard time believing this will get any real official traction… but I wouldn’t be shocked if people latch onto this as another way to bash refs.

The NBA will do nothing. Vegas probably already knew this. However, it will probably affect Vegas if enough people catch on.

I didn’t read the article based on the study, but it seems like this only describes a correlation, not causation. Maybe the shorter refs call more fouls because their eyes are closer to the level at which more fouls are committed. Maybe the taller refs are looking in the paint more because they played the 4/5 in high school so that’s what they like to watch better.

I expect nothing to come from this.

zippittyay

The moron on the ABC Team actually referred to Mario Effin Chalmers as “high character guy”. I about lost my lunch. He should have been ejected with a flagrant 2 for his cheap shot against Parker. There was no ‘basketball play’ there, only excessive contact with intent to injure. No different than throwing a punch.

bill_nair

Even the player formally known as Ron Artest said Chalmers stole his move (refering to when he elbowed Harden).

Curt Hays

pfk Ron Artest

LOL

bill_nair

Lol i cant find it in me to call the man who used to drink henny at halftime World Peace.

eddysamson

What really pissed me off about it is he got away with a Flagrant 1 on a clear Flagrant 2 foul which literally won them the game. Spurs looked completely different after that went down and the free throws they missed.

Davout

The only trouble is it is a utter myth that Napoleon was short for his time. He was two inches above average French height for the early 1800s. But the victors write the history.